First British national to contract coronavirus had been in Singapore

Patient diagnosed in Brighton and taken to London is third confirmed case in the UK

• Coronavirus - latest updates

The third person in Britain to test positive for coronavirus travelled to the UK from Singapore, it emerged on Thursday, prompting a significant widening of the government's response to the epidemic.

The new case, a middle-aged man, was the first British national to contract the virus, government sources indicated. After it was confirmed that he had travelled to the UK from outside China, officials changed existing advice, putting doctors on alert for cases in people returning from a string of countries not previously considered to present a risk.